Anti-fascist movements go through three stages, the first involving the fall of the fascist regime, the second relating to the consolidation of power and the third involving extensive reforms/restructuring required for the democratic transformation of the state structure, writes Zobaer Al Mahmud
HILE many may not agree to label the July-August uprising as a revolution, I view it as a potentially revolutionary mass movement. However, after the fall of the Hasina government on August 5, the fact that interim government officials took an oath before the fascist president, chosen under the constitution, has complicated the revolutionary transformation of this movement. In this sense, it is anti-people because it is not aligned with the aspirations of the masses, as expressed during the July-August uprising. The constitution has primarily functioned as a tool to maintain a fascist, authoritarian, undemocratic state apparatus.
The democratic will and aspirations of the student and the mass movement form the basis of popular power, which should have transformed into a revolutionary interim government. That government should have sworn allegiance to people, not to the president. This was a fundamental mistake and certainly indicates that the student-mass movement has been, or is in the process of being, hijacked. It is disappointing that many are not willing to dismantle the fascist, authoritarian state structure and governance system. Instead, they are working to maintain the old fascist framework by proposing superficial changes within the current constitutional framework. If this happens, there will be little to no chance of transforming this mass uprising into a revolution.
Some may find the solution in merely reforming the constitution, but to truly reconstruct a democratic state, revolutionary changes ion the current constitution are essential. This would prevent future governments from easily using or amending the constitution to reinstate authoritarian and fascist oppression. However, under the present circumstances, making such changes has become extremely difficult. It appears that only limited, sugar-coated reforms will be implemented to ensure the stability of the state apparatus. This situation arose because, although the student leaders-coordinators leading the movement had previously demanded the abolition of the fascist system, I suspect they were not aware of the revolutionary processes necessary to uproot this system.
This became evident from their failure on August 5 to demand the resignation of the president at the heart of the Shahbagh mass uprising. They also did not call for the suspension of the constitution, the abolition of the fascist regime and its structures, or the formation of a 鈥榬evolutionary interim government鈥� through a revolutionary council. Such a government would have been tasked with forming a constitutional assembly to draft a new constitution. Surprisingly, despite the aspirations of people and the advice of few leading intellectuals, they failed to raise the demands at Shahbagh, the epicentre of the mass movement, on August 5.
We have observed that some members of civil society and intellectuals 鈥� most of whom are lawyers and columnists听鈥� either intentionally or unknowingly justified forming an interim government within the framework of the current constitution. We have repeatedly pointed out that lawyers and teachers, who are typically functionalists and anti-revolutionary, are not usually prepared for revolutionary changes because of their long-standing institutional habits or training. But it seems that the student coordinators, possibly influenced by these functionalists, made a critical mistake at such a pivotal moment.
The interim government is suitable for running routine administrative tasks. However, undertaking extensive constitutional reforms to remove the authoritarian and fascist elements of the current constitution will be challenging for it. There will be many legal/constitutional obstacles and self-interested groups, political parties and various agencies aligned with regional and international foreign powers will try to block any revolutionary changes. One limitation of this government is that it consists mainly of lawyers, NGO officials and bureaucrats, without the inclusion of revolutionary public intellectuals who have a deep understanding of politics. This lack of political insight will make it difficult to achieve revolutionary changes.
The interim government now needs to immediately become more active and dynamic by appointing a few additional advisers who not only embody the spirit of the July-August mass uprising but also have the political acumen to make sound decisions. It is undoubtedly the bravery and great sacrifice of the students and the people that led to victory in the movement, even at the cost of lives. But if the council of advisers lacks the intellectual and revolutionary integrity and capability necessary to transform the fascist and authoritarian state structure, laws and constitution into a democratic framework, we risk returning to situations like 1990 or 2007 once again.
So, what should the students and people do now to transform the uprising into a democratic revolution or reconstructing a liberal democratic state? The student coordinators outside the interim government must unite with the students and the masses to continuously pressure the government to fulfwwil the democratic aspirations of the movement. They must demand significant changes in the constitution, the bureaucracy, state institutions and the overall state structure to fundamentally reform the authoritarian state apparatus and dismantle fascist institutions, thereby abolishing the fascist system.
If necessary, the students must once again take to the streets, demanding the reform and reconstruction of the state apparatus. For this, the students and members of civil society must immediately call for the resignation of the president appointed during the undemocratic regime and demand that the interim government should establish a constitutional assembly. Only the continued movement and struggle of the students and the people can prevent the conspiracy of holding a mere election without proper reforms, which would maintain the fascist system and state apparatus.
Many are saying that Bengalis/Bangladeshis lack morality and no change or revolutionary transformation will happen through them. This argument about the lack of morality in Bengalis/Bangladeshis is connected to colonialism. All institutions in this country were built to serve colonial rule, related to the colonial education system. Even after independence, the same structure was maintained and, most important, over a one decade and a half, all institutions have collapsed. Those who are ethically sound in this country are not allowed to come into positions of power.
In many cases, power itself can create morality. Therefore, to improve morality, we must also reform our institutions. It is hard to argue that the moral standards of people in Europe or America are much higher than ours. So why do we consider them to be better? Primarily because they have been able to establish functional institutions and create a basic social contract/constitution for governing a state. As a result, they have a liberal democratic and civilised structure. Thus, individual freedom, dignity, human rights and civil rights are broadly protected in those countries and because these institutions are functional, their public moral ground seems higher to us. However, if you look at the pre-democratic revolution Europe, it would not seem better than Bangladesh in any way.
Therefore, after such a massive people鈥檚 uprising here, our task is to transform the uprising into a liberal democratic revolution by dismantling the fascist structure. We must create a new constitution based on dialogues with the people, setting out basic ideas/concepts such as the protection of universal human rights, the dignity of individuals, freedom of expression and ensuring that there are no obstacles to personal development. On this foundation, we can draft a people-centric constitution, which means abolishing the old fascist constitution and introducing a new one. The next step would be to fundamentally reform all institutions and the state and make them functional and effective. Continuous pressure must be applied on the interim government to carry out the tasks.
Any anti-fascist movement goes through three stages. The first stage involves the fall of the fascist regime, the second stage is the consolidation of power which is still far from complete and the third stage is the extensive reforms/restructuring required for the democratic transformation of the state structure. Many people鈥檚 uprisings fail at the second stage because of conflicts and disunity among different groups of activists. We are now witnessing the interim government struggling to solidify its hold on power as many remnants of the fallen regime are trying, with the help of external forces, to weaken and undermine the new government. Without uprooting the fascist structure in the third stage, the true purpose of the movement will not be fulfilled.
The first stage of the July-August movement is complete and now we are in the second stage. Here, it is crucial to keep creating awareness among the public and continuously apply pressure for the reform of the constitution and the restructuring of the state. This is where most movements make mistakes. Because of the involvement of various foreign powers and agencies trying to manipulate the situation, the public can become confused, exhausted and lose direction. Conflicts over power sharing often emerge among the activists, leading to the breakdown of unity.
Meanwhile, the beneficiary groups of the fallen regime become active during this time to intellectually confuse the public. We are now in this second stage, where ideological conflicts are becoming more apparent. In such cases, if we can establish a common unity, regardless of our ideological differences, that we all want a liberal democratic welfare state structure. Only then can we unite all sides and rebuild Bangladesh. With this common goal in mind, it is essential to pressure the government to complete the process of democratic transformation. For this, the students must remain active both on the streets and in intellectual forums, through discussions, meetings and seminars, to continue the shadow work of political leadership. There is no alternative. Everyone must continue working as a pressure group without losing hope. We need to keep raising our voice to change the state structure fundamentally. We must keep speaking out.
The students for now should refrain from forming their own political party and, instead, the primary task of the students鈥� coordination committee should be to function as a pressure group ensuring that the interim government works towards transforming the people鈥檚 uprising into a democratic Bangladesh. The unity between the people and the students must be strengthened. Students need to unite with the working class. Many revolutions have failed for lack of alliance with the working class, as history shows.
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Dr Zobaer Al Mahmud is an associate professor of clinical pharmacy and pharmacology in the University of Dhaka.
